


Truth or Consequences

by Alexandria (heartfullofelves)



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark, F/F, Memory Related, Past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-24 09:26:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18163415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartfullofelves/pseuds/Alexandria
Summary: Isobel comes out of stasis and faces the past.





	Truth or Consequences

The world around her was unfamiliar. Whatever this town was, she was sure she’d never been here before. Then again, everything was new to her, including the reflection she saw in the mirror in the gas station bathroom. If anyone addressed her by name, she was sure that name would be new to her as well.

She’d woken up in a cave earlier today, not knowing where or who she was. But she’d felt something – an urge to travel west – so she’d put on some sort of garment that was lying on the cave floor and found her way to a main road, where she’d hitched a ride. The driver had told her she’d been lucky to be picked up by a woman. She hadn’t known what that meant, but she’d agreed with the driver, able to speak the same language.

Now, she continued to follow the magnetic pull, which led her to a diner. The pleasant aromas inside the diner made her mouth water, telling her to eat here. Her body needed sustenance.

Hovering by the entrance, she observed the protocol. She watched as a group of people – a family, she guessed by their physical similarities and ease with each other – came in and ordered some food. Satisfied by what she’d observed, she followed their lead and walked up to the counter, where a dark-haired woman stood behind it.

“Hi, what can I get—” The woman grew pale and took a step back. Her dark eyes grew large with terror; she was shaking. “Isobel,” she whispered.

She’d been wrong – that name _wasn’t_ new. And this woman, who looked the same age as her but had different colouring, looked almost familiar too. She noticed then that the urge she’d felt, telling her where to go, had disappeared, only to be replaced by a dizziness in her head.

The world went dark, and she fell to the floor.

* * *

Rosa was the only staff member out front, so she couldn’t ignore the unconscious Isobel Evans, no matter how much she didn’t want to help her. She grabbed a fresh bottle of water and crouched next to Isobel, sliding a folded-up apron under her head.

Other customers were staring. She ordered them to give her some space, even declining one man’s offer of help. This was her problem to deal with alone, just like in 2008.

Looking at Isobel’s calm face brought back a whole suitcase full of memories, both good and bad. Of course, the bad far outweighed the good. Rosa had been filled with terror just now when she’d seen Isobel walking towards her, reliving the last time she’d seen her. She remembered Isobel’s hand over her mouth, intending to silence her forever.

In the decade since that night, Rosa had never forgiven or forgotten, but years of distance had helped her come to terms with everything she’d discovered and experienced back then. The years had taught her not to miss everything she’d lost. But seeing Isobel now brought it all back – Liz, Papi, the Crashdown, the drugs she’d taken to find peace. The night she’d brought Isobel up to her room, slipped her hands under her prom dress, and tasted her, knowing Liz wouldn’t be home for hours and her papi was fast asleep.

Rosa hoped she wasn’t blushing.

When Isobel came to, Rosa helped her sit, then handed her the water bottle.

“Drink. You look dehydrated.”

Isobel shot her a confused glance but opened the lid and drank. She didn’t stop until she’d finished the whole bottle. Then Rosa helped her up off the floor and into a chair. Rosa sat opposite her, folding her arms.

“How did you find me?” she demanded. “No, why are you here? Did you come to finish what you started ten years ago?”

Isobel frowned. “Do we know each other?” she said.

Rosa scoffed. “You are not serious right now.”

“Please.” Isobel reached out a hand, then retracted it as Rosa shook her head. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know who _I_ am, or where.”

“You’re in T or C.”

Isobel’s face was blank.

“New Mexico. United States of America? Earth?” Rosa sighed. As if seeing the girl who’d fucked her life wasn’t bad enough, Isobel seemed to have no memory of anything.

“I’m sorry,” said Isobel. “I just woke up and knew I had to follow…” She trailed off, staring at Rosa’s wrist. “I know that symbol.”

Rosa glanced down at her tattoo. The symbol consisted of four circles, one in the middle and three around it, connected to the middle circle by three straight lines. She’d decided to get it a year after she’d left Roswell, not knowing what it was but knowing what it meant to her. It represented another world.

“How do you know this symbol?” she asked, testing Isobel.

“I don’t know,” Isobel said, but her eyes had lit up. She pointed at the tattoo. “That’s what brought me here. I was following the symbol.”

A loud cough interrupted them, bringing Rosa back to reality. She got up, telling Isobel to stay put, and got back to work, serving a couple of burgers and making a second milkshake for someone. As soon as all the customers had been served and they no longer looked at her like she was the cause of all their troubles, she returned to Isobel’s table.

“Okay,” she said, keeping her voice low. “It’s an alien symbol, that’s all I know about it. You haven’t forgotten what aliens are, have you?”

Isobel shook her head. “I don’t think so. Please, tell me who I am.”

“Ay, Dios mío,” Rosa muttered. “Your name is Isobel Evans. You’re from Roswell, New Mexico. Except that you’re not, you’re an alien. You kept that secret for years, you’re probably still keeping it. We met in 2008, when we were teenagers. I didn’t know why you wanted to be my friend, but you were nice to me most of the time. And then you fucked me.”

The words held a double meaning, for after they’d slept together, Isobel had told her something lifechanging. And later, Isobel had changed her mind about trusting Rosa with that secret.

Isobel’s eyes were wide, and Rosa couldn’t read her expression. Was it confusion? Shock? Disbelief? With this version of Isobel, who was a complete mystery, it could’ve been anything.

Rosa went on. “You’ve got a twin brother – Max. You guys were always super close. But you didn’t seem to want him to know about us. I couldn’t work out why, until the night you killed two people and then tried to kill me.”

Isobel gasped. “I wouldn’t do that,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not me. I’m not a killer.”

Rosa grabbed Isobel’s hand and crushed it, meaning to hurt her, meaning to not let her move. “It turned out you had these blackouts, so you were like two people. One Isobel loved me in some dark way, and the other didn’t remember I existed. But unlike you, I remember everything.”

It took her a moment to realise the thunder in her ears was her own angry heartbeat. Because of Isobel, she hadn’t been able to return home in ten years; she’d had to stay away because turning up alive would raise too many questions about both her parents’ immigration status and the existence of aliens in Roswell. She’d stayed away to keep her family safe, and Isobel hadn’t even faced justice. If she’d needed any more proof of the unfairness of the world, this was it.

“Your… Your name,” said Isobel, tilting her head and looking at Rosa with soft eyes. “It’s Rosa, isn’t it?”

Rosa’s mouth dropped open, but she couldn’t speak. She wouldn’t have known what to say anyway.

With her free hand, Isobel traced the tattoo on Rosa’s wrist. The corners of her mouth twitched, forming a tight smile. She gazed into Rosa’s eyes.

“You remembered?” Rosa asked.

Isobel sighed. “No. It’s on your nametag.”

* * *

She wished she remembered. She was an adult woman with the life experience of a baby. She’d forgotten her whole life, which by the sound of it had been an extraordinary one. Some things were familiar, like the name Isobel and the symbol on Rosa’s arm. And she believed she was an alien, though she didn’t understand all the implications of that. But was she a killer? It didn’t feel right.

There was only one way to get answers: she had to go home to Roswell. She stood up.

She glanced down at where Rosa still gripped her left hand. There was a thin strip on one of Isobel’s fingers that was paler than the rest of her skin. She wondered why that was.

“What are you doing?” Rosa’s brow creased, and she let go of Isobel’s hand.

“I’m going back to Roswell. You said I have a brother there. Maybe he’ll be able to help me with my missing memories.”

Rosa stood as well. “Do you even know where to go? Do you know where Roswell is, or what Max looks like?”

Isobel chuckled. She’d made it from a cave in the desert to this little town, not knowing where she was going or what she was meant to find. Why couldn’t she do it again? She took a step away from the table, then another.

“You got a car?” Rosa said.

Isobel halted, and looked back over her shoulder. No, she didn’t.

Rosa sighed. “I finish work in three hours. We’ll arrive under the cover of night.”

Isobel smiled. “Thank you, Rosa.” She meant it.

“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it because I miss my family. We’ll need an airtight story, so start thinking.”

Nodding, Isobel’s smile didn’t fade, despite Rosa’s stern look. She was going to find out the whole truth about her past and the person she was, the person she used to be. No matter what it cost her.


End file.
